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Gray snapperPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker80
- Spot80
- Atlantic tarpon76
- Crevalle jack76
- Red drum76
- Spotted seatrout75
- Gray snapper73
- Southern flounder73
- Summer flounder71
- King mackerel70
- Black drum67
- Florida pompano66
- Spanish mackerel66
- Cobia63
- Sheepshead63
- Red snapper62
- Weakfish62
- Black sea bass61
- Gag grouper61
- Gray triggerfish61
- Little tunny60
- Red grouper60
- Greater amberjack55
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 7 AM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 735 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.6 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pains Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
78Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 6 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 80°F, primeLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.0 ftSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
83Season: PeakHabitat: Structure unmappedDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Gray snapper is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.
Source: NCDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray snapper is best here
Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pains Bay
- Depth
- 4-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonGray snapper
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Pains Bay
Pains Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 4-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
- Atlantic croaker
- Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
- Spot
- Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Rawls Point75
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Spot 75
- Red drum 72
6 kt SEH 7:16 PM · 0.7 ftL 1:39 AM · 0.4 ft
- Long Shoal75
Bar · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Spot 75
- Red drum 72
6 kt SEH 7:16 PM · 0.7 ftL 1:39 AM · 0.4 ft
- Pains Point73
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Spot 73
- Red drum 71
6 kt SEH 7:16 PM · 0.7 ftL 1:39 AM · 0.4 ft
- Pingleton Point73
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Spot 73
- Red drum 71
6 kt SEH 7:16 PM · 0.7 ftL 1:39 AM · 0.4 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NCDMF before you keep a fish.